Tebow rally to be held in Jacksonville

Posted by Mike Florio on September 16, 2013, 1:09 PM EDT

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The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t as bad as they were expected to be. They’re worse.

Hapless and punchless, the Jaguars have scored 11 points in two games, seven of which came on a garbage-time touchdown in Oakland. And so some in Jacksonville believe that the local team can be bad without hometown hero Tim Tebow on the roster, or they can be bad with him.

According to News4Jax.com, a rally will be held outside EverBank Field on Monday to encourage the Jaguars to sign Tebow. Organized by a website and Facebook group called “Jags-Tebow Why Not?” The Facebook group had nearly 400 members on Monday morning.

The event begins at 3:16 p.m. ET, and it will last for three hours and sixteen minutes. The whole 3:16 is a not-so-clever reference to Tebow’s religious practices and preferences.

And it would be fitting if somewhere between three and 16 people show up for the event.

God Help’em! I like Tim Tebow as a person. But he was a dreadful QB during his brief stint with my Patriots. Just awful. Jacksonville would be much better off trying to swindle Josh Freeman for Blaine Gabbert. They could always grab Tebow next year if they are still that desperate. Or if Freeman opts out and leaves them hanging. Trust me, Tebow will still be available in 2014 & 15 & 16. Well you all get the point. Go down that river at your own risk.

It would have been stupid to bring Tebow in before Gabbert got hurt…as soon as he got hurt, they were stupid not to bring him in immediately…

Hello Jax…this is a lost season…want to sell tickets, draw interest, be relevant, and maybe win a few games? Besides, if any team needs a miracle, it’s the Jags…if there is one player capable of miracles…LOL

Denver most reluctantly used him as a one year stop gap until they could get a MAJOR qb upgrade…worked out well for them…I guess Caldwell is too smart for the teams own good…

That they haven’t tells me they have a bad GM…he was 100% right before and he is 100% wrong now…

Seriously what is there to lose? You’re headed for a 0 to 3 win season regardless. You’re not a contender.

So go out and sign the home town boy, draw a few fans, get on sports center a little, and maybe win a few more games. The worst that can happen is you don’t win a game this season which is apparently where you’re headed anyways.

Bring in Tebow, get a little energy in the fanbase, draft your starter next year, and move on.

walkinginthewasteland says:Sep 16, 2013 1:26 PM

How many no-shows of the rally would dictate blacking out media coverage of said rally?

tformation says:Sep 16, 2013 1:27 PM

No way the Jags do this. No way that they just hand over important decisions to the fans like this. They will, never, never let up if they do.

Seriously, Tebow’s fans do him NO favors when they pull stunts like this… they make Tebow into a distraction… exactly what every NFL coach DOESN’T NEED.

I still don’t get why they haven’t signed him. He would be relatively cheap and he gives you a much better chance to win compared to Gabbert and Henne. Also, the team is so irrelevant outside of Jacksonville the media circus and publicity should be welcomed by the franchise. Plus they wold sell some seats. And if they not win you still get Bridgewater. I see very little risk for them.

drbob117 says:Sep 16, 2013 1:28 PM

I know there’s a certain amount of dislike among the media for the guy, but as far as Jags fans thinking “Why not sign him; he’s better then Gabbert or Henne?”… they’re not really wrong.

BTW, with my comments I’m not saying Jacksonville has sucky fans — the city sucks and since there is nothing else there to do so they’ll mostly show-up, thus the need for a Major League type plot to tank the team.

Also there is no world, no universe, no dimension where Blaine Gabbert is better than Tim Tebow at doing anything, other than tanking a team so it can move to LA.

cajunaise says:Sep 16, 2013 1:33 PM

Don’t let the “because why not?” sentiment fool you- the “Tebow is an NFL-caliber QB” crowd really think he’s the second coming. I’d love for Jacksonville to pull the trigger and ultimately demonstrate just how misguided these folks are.

singisking says:Sep 16, 2013 1:35 PM

3/16 is also Tim’s typical completion percentage. But as long as “he’s excited”, out-working everyone in the weight room and can make passionate speeches, I guess there’s a chance. Just like Jim Carey thought there was a chance in Dumb and Dumber..

kingmj4891 says:Sep 16, 2013 1:36 PM

stillersfan says:
Sep 16, 2013 1:18 PM
I was a huge Tebow fan when he came into the league, and I think he’s a pretty good dude; as a person, he is good for the league. However, this needs to STOP…he’s not a QB.

He needs to embrace a conversion to TE/FB, or he and his minions need to go away.

_________________________

Why does everyone think he can play TE/FB?

He has only played QB maybe he passes better then he can catch.

In all honestly, I would hope that Tebow would go play in another league and let the NFL move on, but if the Jags get a decent amount of people to show up for this 1000+ (very unlikely) I say sign him and start him next week then when he sucks it up cut him.

I think Tebow is an amazing person and inspiring to many, however he is not cut out for the NFL. He has had his chance in Denver and while they had a successful season with him 95% of that was not because of him but inspite of him.

The franchise is in the toilet and the guy is a winner. No, he’s not a savior at quarterback. Yes, you will have a new guy next year from the draft. And yes, he will put butts in seats, people will buy his jersey, and he might even win a game for you (2-14 will still get you the top pick, congrats). It really is a “why not?” situation.

The Jags have a real shot at 0-16 this year. They should have their choice of Bridgewater or Clowney, and Bridgewater is making a real case for himself.

The Manziel comments are dumb. No way Manziel goes in the top 5 where the Jags will probably drafting if they keep this up.

Manziel is a 2nd or 3rd rounder right now. he could play himself into a late 1st but not into the top 5.

The worst thing the Jags can do right now is figure out what we all know and that’s that Henne is 10x the QB that Gabbert is and dump Gabbert now. You’re not making the playoffs…. get the #1 pick.

jlinatl says:Sep 16, 2013 1:47 PM

There were 12 teams with lower average attendance last year. Jax has hovered around 20th despite being terrible.

Considering the population base, I think that’s pretty impressive or at the very least, not bad.

It will be quite a test overcoming several years of brutal personnel moves. But a gimmick isn’t the answer to building a brand in a state where a large part of the potential fanbase grew up somewhere else and still maintains allegiance to another team.

So some schmuck that doesn’t even live in Jacksonville is looking to make a quick buc. So he makes a cheapo website and a Facebook page with a few hundred people. And he then gets coverage from national media outlets.

Just do it… Sign him. And when he sucks! Maybe the Tebowites will shut up. But probably not… they’ll blame his WRs and the running game and the line and the coach. He is NOT AN NFL CALIBER QB!!! That is a FACT! Get over it.
Some days I really wish Florida would just float into the ocean and become its own country. I’m sorry to the intelligent, rational floridians! But Florida is like that one uncle who shows up drunk at every family party and makes one loud annoying statement to make everyone uncomfortable.

I think its pretty obvious, unless you are just a hater or some sort, that the most fun outcome for football fans not connected to the jags, would be for tebow to be signed

yeah, we have to live with 24/7 tebow coverage, but we won’t if he is losing every week, and frankly I’d rather watch him run around than gabbert or henne.

I agree with the jags fans. you are going to have the top pick, or the 2nd pick, in a QB friendly draft. just bring tebow in, sell some tickets, and make it interesting for the rest of us, and teams can pad their defensive stats. its how Brandon carr got a HUGE deal. he picked tebow 2 times to get to a career high 4.

jaxasc84 says:Sep 16, 2013 2:01 PM

You know that cousin who always says/does something stupid at every birthday party, wedding, funeral, etc.. Sure, he’s family, but he’s embarrassing. That’s how the Jaguar fans in Jacksonville view the Tebow fans in Jacksonville.

The “Why not? Couldn’t be worse.” question is ridiculous. In the NFL, you’re either winning or you’re positioning yourself to win in the future. That’s it. Tebow helps with neither goal. THAT’S why not.

Let it go. Seriously, let it go. Quaterbacks need more than guts to be NFL QBs. He has that, but he lacks accuracy, and consistency – two necessities for the position. Therefore, until he gets those two things he will not be an NFL QB.

People can say what they want about Tebow being a terrible quarterback, but the one thing they can’t deny is that he wins football games. Jacksonville isn’t going to win games with the QBs they have, but Tebow would win games for them while not looking pretty. Obviously, the best thing to do is to keep losing so they can get a good QB in the draft, but don’t pretend that they wouldn’t be better off this season with Tebow.

sourwine15 says:
Sep 16, 2013 1:21 PM
It’s embarassing that these types of idiots are the people that the national psyche views Jacksonville and Jags fans as.

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Sorry but what is embarrassing is Jacksonville itself. I went through that mudpit once when I was about 15 and I can still smell the place. Jacksonville is just an awful, dirty place. Also you all really really really need to just become part of Georgia, it is not a Florida city for everything good and bad about that. Finally paint that dumb bridge, that shade of blue is repulsive, choose something new, it’s awful. However I do sort of like the Tron building, so you got that going for you.

I said when Tebow went the Jets that the Jaguars are headed for LA. People didn’t like what I said and came up with all kinds of excuses as to how I was wrong.

When he was released from the Jets and was just out there, I heard the same story. People were talking about the Jaguars as if Blaine Gabbert was the answer and that the GM and the owners wanted to win. And again, this season has started and they look terrible.

And Tebow will NEVER play for them. Not that they think that he will win, but that if you put Tebow out there, you will definitely sell out your next game. And if you win with Tebow, you simply cannot leave Florida.

In short, the worst thing that can happen to the Jags’ plans is if Tim Tebow comes down there and win a few games.

thestrategyexpert says:
“I really think JAX needs to replace the GM if they want to solve their problems. They should have a rally for that. This is pathetic and the team isn’t even close to looking good.”

We just did. This is 2 games into the new GM’s career. I’m not worried, it’s rebuilding from the ground up. It means a rough season or few.

kevo126 says:
“preludeoflight, tarps do not count as fans. but they are there every week…”

Hey Kevo, I’m not sure where you’re getting your info but let me hit you with a few tidbits:

-With the tarps, the size of Everbank Field is about 16th in the league. (Without, it’s 4th.)
-Even with the tarps, we have a larger crowd (~64k) than 10 other teams in the league.
-In fact, our tarped capacity (67k) is larger than the UNTARPED capacity of Oakland’s stadium. (Yes, Oakland has about a 64k seat stadium when untarped… but they keep it tarped down to 53k.)

I know it’s popular and fun to make fun of the Jags, but while we’re last in the league in standings, we’re far from last in attendance!

blackandbluedivision says:Sep 16, 2013 2:20 PM

harrisonhits2 says:
Sep 16, 2013 1:30 PM
the Jaguars have scored 11 points in two games, seven of which came on a garbage-time touchdown in Oakland
__________________

So they’ve gotten 2 safeties for their other points ?

How bizarre. I don’t think most teams even score 1 safety in a typical year.
_____________________________

Nope. 1 Safety. The other was a botched 2 point conversion. So they got 6 instead of 7. add that to the field goal in the same game and the first safety in the first game and you get 11 points.

I’m not a Seahawks fan. But Seattle is going to destroy Jacksonville this Sunday in Seattle. It’s not going to be pretty.

granadafan says:Sep 16, 2013 2:24 PM

People rightfully talk about how bad U$C Quarterbacks are, but how about the entire state of Florida? There has not been one good QB produced from the Florida schools (Miami, FSU, Florida) since the 90s.

As for Tebow in Jacksonville, the pressure and expectations on him would be too high. The circus type atmosphere would be ten times what the Jets experienced.

Just did? I’m asking to do it again. This guy doesn’t have this team set up in a qualified way and I don’t get the plan. I think the problem is the guy making the plans. They need a new one again. A bad GM only needs 1 hour to convince me that he needs to be replaced if that 1 hour is bad enough work. I’m examining the roster and I don’t see the short-term plan or the long-term plan making any damn sense. This is ridiculous and they need to make roster moves NOW before the next season and the one after that go into the crapper as well.

floridateal says:Sep 16, 2013 2:27 PM

Who is going to hear the protest? The team stayed on the west coast to get ready for the Seattle game. All the management is gone.

What do you think we did in the offseason??
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thestrategyexpert says:
Sep 16, 2013 2:04 PM
I really think JAX needs to replace the GM if they want to solve their problems. They should have a rally for that. This is pathetic and the team isn’t even close to looking good.

-With the tarps, the size of Everbank Field is about 16th in the league. (Without, it’s 4th.)
-Even with the tarps, we have a larger crowd (~64k) than 10 other teams in the league.

——————

HAHAHAHAHA. Tampa played there a couple of years ago to a SOLD OUT crowd and there was maybe, maybe 30,000 people there, maybe. Actual attendance numbers are all that will matter when the team tries to move and suddenly you’re going to find a lot of games where they were barely breaking 40k. HOWEVER this is not an attack on Jacksonville fans, they’ll show-up if the team isn’t a complete disaster and even then they’ll support the team more than other markets since legitimately there is NOTHING else to do. However to not see that the team is using all this to build their case to move to LA is a serious case of short sightedness. I don’t want the team to move to LA because they do have good fans, but come on, open your eyes to what is happening already.

preludeoflight says:Sep 16, 2013 2:33 PM

thestrategyexpert:

2 games into a season isn’t nearly enough time for a GM to get going. With a head coach change and a complete roster overhaul, and only one draft so far, firing a new GM that has a lot of promise would be a huge mistake. If you fired GMs for two losses at the beginning of their careers, none of them would ever keep a job. It takes time to build a roster capable of winning, and further: it takes time to undo the mistakes of the previous crew.

There is only so much talent at any given point in the NFL and you can’t fix all the problems in one offseason.

Somewhere between 3 and 16 people will attend, and yet somewhere between 300 and 1,600 stories will be generated by the media.

sactogary says:Sep 16, 2013 2:45 PM

cajunaise says: Sep 16, 2013 1:33 PM

Don’t let the “because why not?” sentiment fool you- the “Tebow is an NFL-caliber QB” crowd really think he’s the second coming. I’d love for Jacksonville to pull the trigger and ultimately demonstrate just how misguided these folks are.
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That’s exactly what John Fox thought in Denver – we’ll give him 3 or 4 games to be exposed, and then the stupid fans will shut up.

should the giants be looking for tebow they are 0-2? Redskins? Vikings? The Bucs are 0-2 and in florida why not tebow there? The bucs also draw less than the jags, as do the steelers.
Sorry but if you want tebow to be in the nfl so bad put him on your team, like you say what do you have to lose? He can help sell jersey’s, put fans in the seats and win games right? Doesn’t evey team want them no matter what team it is? There are 10 teams with lower attendance than the jags shouldnt they be in the tebow hunt first?

I think you wasted time in the offseason and hired a poor GM, and now you need to hire another one. When you get a good one, then he can stay. But I don’t think this one is a good one because I can’t understand the logic of this roster design.

EJ says:Sep 16, 2013 2:59 PM

Dwell for Manziel.

sactogary says:Sep 16, 2013 3:07 PM

People talk about “getting a quarterback in the draft.” That’s hardly a sure thing. How do you think the Jags got Gabbert?

Thirteen QBs have been taken first in the draft over the last 20 years. Exactly two of them have Super Bowl rings, and Archie doesn’t have any more sons at home.

tennesseeoilers says:Sep 16, 2013 3:18 PM

Sourwine said: “It’s embarrassing that these types of idiots are the people that the national psyche views Jacksonville and Jags fans as.”

First observation: Sourwine–perfect name for a Jags fan.

Second observation–you couldn’t be more wrong.

In fact, I’ve been to a Jags game in Jacksonville. If Tebow fans start showing up, it’ll class up the joint–a lot!!

spoonreck says:
Sep 16, 2013 2:47 PM
should the giants be looking for tebow they are 0-2? Redskins? Vikings? The Bucs are 0-2 and in florida why not tebow there? The bucs also draw less than the jags, as do the steelers.

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First, I’ve seen the Jaguar crowds, they do draw more than the Rays but not the Bucs. I don’t care what those non-sense attendance numbers say all you have to do is pan the camera up and you’ll notice most of those in attendance came dressed as empty seats. Also to compare yourself to Pittsburgh is just embarrassing, we know they have a smaller stadium (by the way it’s based on the Bucs stadium) but again, you have to look at the people in those seats not the attendance numbers put out by the local chamber of commerce.

Also the reason the Bucs aren’t in the Tebow conversation is simple, we don’t have Blaine Gabbert or Chad Henne as our QB. If we did I’d be in total support of signing Tebow.

EJ says:Sep 16, 2013 3:30 PM

Do I thing Tebow is the answer… No, but he sure would make Sunday fun for Jacksonville. He is not the Franchise QB the team is looking for, but he will definitely win some games. Besides, what would it hurt right now if they brought him in? The team already knows that their current stable of QB’s is dry, so Tebow wouldn’t be stepping on any toes. The team will pocket a bunch of cash, between ticket and merchandise sales, which would go through the roof. The best thing, Tebow wouldn’t break the bank, he would be cheaply had.

peytonsneck18 says:Sep 16, 2013 3:43 PM

jags are the step children of the nfl

mackcarrington says:Sep 16, 2013 3:45 PM

I live in L.A. and I don’t think any one here would be excited about having the Jags move here. So please stop with that nonsense conversation. Besides, the fans in J-Ville say that attendance isn’t a problem. The stadium isn’t a problem. The team doesn’t have a financial problem. They are just bad on the field. Those are the same reasons that they won’t sign Tebow.
He won’t improve them on the field, and they don’t need to “sell more jerseys”. If the Jags were to move to LA, they would be just like the Clippers were for 30 years in LA until they became an exciting, winning team. No one but a small, faithful few would care. That wouldn’t fly in today’s NFL. The Clippers stayed the course only because the owner,(as bad as he was) was committed to LA. If Kahn shows the same commitment to J-Ville things will eventually turn around.

I’m sure Tim is a heck of a nice guy. However, he had a chance to be a Jag, and he turned us down for the bigger pulpit of NY. Now it’s just too late.

But I have a better idea…Since the local news affiliate here in Jax, News4Jax, was leading this charge this morning, why don’t we boycott them. They aren’t affiliated with a major network, anyway. Their sportscaster announced, “I’m most certain that Tebow will be here in a Jags uniform by January”…This was last year. He had no business doing that, so it doesn’t surprise me that the very same network is now leading this dumb idea, which makes the whole city look bad. Let’s all boycott News4Jax!

cuda1234 says:Sep 16, 2013 4:25 PM

Can’t believe people still refer to Tebow as a winner. Let’s reacap: Non-winning record as a starter in the NFL. Three years in the NFL, zero winning seasons. One SEC championship in three tries in college. Hopefully one day some of these zealots will look this stuff up.

Jacksonville area columnist Pete Prisco is going on a Twitter rampage as we speak.

The biggest Tebow critic will have to spend the next few nights in Miami in order to get away from the madness.

2jivecrew says:Sep 16, 2013 4:57 PM

“The guys just wins games!”.

No. No he doesn’t. Outside of the Pittsburgh game, he played like a JV high school QB for 58 minutes of every one of those games….putting on such a shoddy display of quarterbacking that even made Jamarcus Russell blush. Luckily for him Denver’s defense kept it close enough for a last minute comeback. The defense won those games, not Tebow. And he’s done nothing since to make anybody believe he can play. Not even belichick wanted him……on the heels of the Aaron hernandez fiasco when they could use the positive PR image that Tebow brings. Even then they could not find a place for him. Wake up, Tebow sucks. Great kid, just not an NFL caliber QB. That is the reality. And it’s not even debateable.

sactogary says:Sep 16, 2013 5:37 PM

cuda1234 says: Sep 16, 2013 4:25 PM

Can’t believe people still refer to Tebow as a winner. Let’s reacap: Non-winning record as a starter in the NFL. Three years in the NFL, zero winning seasons. One SEC championship in three tries in college. Hopefully one day some of these zealots will look this stuff up.
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Actually, you should look things up. Since when is 9-7 not a winning record? Since when is 7-4 not a winning season? It’s not HOF stuff, but it’s a heck of a lot better then Gabbert/Henne.

As you can see, no winning records here. He’s been a consistent loser in the NFL.

In his “great” season with Denver (2011), he put up some of the worst passing numbers in NFL history and the Broncos finished the same way they started, 1-4.
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My bad. I assumed you were blaming him for games he started, or at least played in. By your way of counting, I guess you’d say that Peyton Manning was 2-14 with the Colts in 2011.

cuda1234 says:Sep 16, 2013 9:46 PM

Didn’t he play in every game for the Jets last year?

culturalelitist says:Sep 17, 2013 12:23 AM

The sad thing, for anyone who respects the game of NFL Football, is that no matter how many chances Tebow gets, and no matter how poorly he plays, it will never be his fault. His followers will always claim the the NFL establishment is out to get him, coaches refuse to use him to his advantage, and they’re just bad coaches anyway.

I hope the Jaguars don’t cave to fan pressure. They would be even worse with Tebow under center.

I firmly believe that the Broncos’ successful pursuit of Peyton Manning had more to do with escaping the Tebow circus, and less to do with Manning.

Well after this Seahawk game they will be playing Dennard Robinson at QB because he will be the only healthy guy on the roster who can throw the ball more than 3o yards. If you are going to suck, at least suck in front of a full house. Quit being so prideful Jacksonville and just sign the guy. I demand a Tebow spectacle and I will get that spectacle before it is all said and done!

But clearly you say, Kaep is proven winner. I agree. So is Tebow, the heart and the mind to WIN games. I don’t care about technique, half the league has QBs with good stats, good technique, but they fail to win games because they’re scared of the moment.

PS not one team shaped their offense to Tebow’s strong points… but, he still had a miracle season in 2011 that no one will ever forget. Fact.